FRIDAY SPORTS: Tigers win in Charleston; Sibley signs with Furman; Niko Medved Show debuts Sunday
The Clemson Tigers persevered in the opening round of the sixth annual Charleston Classic, rallying from 12 down to come away with a 72-58 victory over the Temple Owls at TD Arena. After scoring a career-high 21 points on Sunday against South Carolina, KJ McDaniels finished Thursday night with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks on Thursday – he had 10 rebounds and seven blocks against the Gamecocks – while center Landry Nnoko had a breakout performance with 10 points and 15 rebounds.With the win, Clemson advances to face Davidson – which defeated Georgia by a final score of 94-82 on Thursday – Friday in the second round of the tournament, with tip off set for 9:30 p.m. ESPNU will televise the contest.
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Knoxville, Tenn., native and Karns High School standout Devin Sibley has signed a national letter of intent to join the Furman men’s basketball program for the 2014-15 season, it was announced on Thursday by Paladin head coach Niko Medved.
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Furman head men’s basketball coach Niko Medved will join Dan Scott, the voice of the Paladins, for The Niko Medved Show each Monday during the 2013-14 season from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Sticky Fingers in downtown Greenville. The show, which will debut with a Sunday edition on November 24, will air live on WGOG-FM 96.3 and Fox Sports 1440 AM.
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South Carolina put the finishing touches on their preparations for Coastal Carolina on the practice field Thursday without some key members of the team. Defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said after practice that Kelcy Quarles (concussion) and Brison Williams (bruised forearm) will not play on Saturday. He is hopeful that Jadeveon Clowney (foot) would be available for Saturday’s contest. None of the three practiced on Thursday. The Gamecocks take on Coastal Carolina at 1:00 PM Saturday at Williams Brice Stadium. An hour earlier, at Death Valley, Clemson will celebrate Military Appreciation Day as they take on the The Citadel.
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Round three of the Class AAA playoffs take place Friday night as top-ranked Daniel hits the road for the first time to take on Greer. Elsewhere, Chapman will visit Belton-Honea Path.
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The New Orleans Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons 17-13 Thursday night in the Georgia Dome, winning the season series against their biggest rival and sending the Falcons to their fifth straight defeat. Saints quarterback Drew Brees was 23 of 33 for 278 yards with two touchdown passes, while Atlanta’s Matt Ryan went 30 of 39 for 292 yards.
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Alex Rodriguez’s grievance hearing over his 211-game suspension for alleged performance-enhancing drug policy violations ended Thursday when both sides rested their cases. Rodriguez didn’t speak in his defense during the hearing, a decision made by his legal team after the arbitrator ruled a day earlier that Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig didn’t have to testify. That decision led an angry A-Rod to storm out and do a radio interview accusing Selig of bias and the arbitration process of being flawed. AP reported that arbitrator Fredric Horowitz will likely make his decision in January.